


the not tragic sciencepilot soulmate au nobody asked for

by theyre_my_babies



Series: Rogue One Soulmate AU [1]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: (Unrequited Galen/Krennic), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Infidelity, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Unrequited, fucking Krennic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 23:26:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9210101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theyre_my_babies/pseuds/theyre_my_babies
Summary: this is literally just galen and bodhi are soulmates and galen lives.





	

**Author's Note:**

> somehow this is the longest single thing i've published.

Galen Erso was born without a soulmark. That’s perfectly normal. It’ll probably show up in a few years. Just means he’s older than his soulmate; it’s just something his parents notice and brush aside - not a concern.

When he’s four years old and playing with the chemistry sets his mother buys for him, Galen Erso doesn’t have a soulmark. Most people would by now, but it’s certainly not unheard of for a four-year-old to not have a soulmark.

When he’s nine, Galen finally gets his soulmark: _Lyra_. It’s a relief. His parents had been starting to worry, and really, even at nine, Galen _wanted_ a soulmate. He doesn’t have a lot of friends, exactly. He wants to have the security of someone to be happy with, someday.

***

Galen meets Orson Krennic in the Republic Futures Program when he’s sixteen. No, Krennic isn’t his soulmate, but - he’s someone, for now. Galen’s soulmate is seven years old right now. He probably has a few years until he meets her, he figures. In the meantime, amidst everything else, Krennic sneaks under his covers in the dark, keeps him up all night, spends entire days off with him, smiles at him. A few months after they meet, Krennic sees Lyra’s name, written in scratchy handwriting on Galen’s upper arm and frowns at it, strokes it. He doesn’t show Galen his mark, but Galen sees it anyway: _Galen_ , written in a small, messy script on the back of his neck.

“Krennic,” Galen whispers, kissing the nape of Krennic’s neck, biting it, burying himself in it.

Krennic gasps and groans and sighs. “Don’t,” he murmurs. “Please.”

So Galen doesn’t.

When they get out of school, Galen and Krennic start to drift apart. They’re still friends. Galen hasn’t met Lyra yet. They still spend nights together, when they’re on the same planet. They don’t always have sex. Sometimes it’s simpler than that, and it’s comfortable. But it will never be enough.

When he’s thirty, Galen finally, _finally_ , meets Lyra. She has his name in the same small, messy script as Krennic, but it’s on her right wrist. She takes him through the caves, they smile together, laugh, and get married a year later.

***

Lyra and Krennic hate each other. They think Galen doesn’t know. He does.

They don’t know: Galen has a new name. It sits quiet, unassuming, on his left ankle, in BIG MESSY LETTERS: BODHI. It came only two weeks after he married Lyra.

In their peaceful first year or so of marriage, Lyra doesn’t notice. After that, how could she? War breaks out like they’ve never seen. They’re imprisoned on Vallt. Lyra gets pregnant and gives birth to their daughter - Jyn - in prison. Six months later, Krennic gets them out. He bombs Vallt, and shows Galen what has become of his home planet: battle has broken out. Galen is ostracized by his peers; he and Lyra are suspected of spying. They nearly die at the end of the war. Too much happens.

Galen starts work on Project Celestial Power. He gets obsessed, a little bit. It’s nice to see that approving look on Krennic’s face - Krennic isn’t his soulmate, but that doesn’t stop Galen from wanting to see him happy. But Lyra doesn’t like it. Not unexpected, really. She leaves the planet for six months on suggestion from Krennic, which - Galen sort of refuses to think about it, but he’s also - Project Celestial Power is promising. While she’s gone, Krennic pulls him into his room on more than one night. Krennic sees his ankle, but it’s brief. He doesn’t look again - doesn’t want to think about the mark of another person who will steal away his soulmate. Galen is secretly glad. He doesn’t want Krennic to fight with his new person. He’s worried about what will happen when Lyra meets Bodhi, already. He doesn’t need to worry about Krennic on top of that.

Lyra doesn’t ever meet Bodhi. Krennic has lied to them, betrayed them. They have been unwitting captives, this whole time. They flee the planet with Jyn and live in hiding for years. Lyra sees the name on Galen’s ankle, finally, pointed out by Jyn one afternoon. They discuss it quietly that night. But he hasn’t met Bodhi yet, so there’s really not a lot to say. Before any of them meet Bodhi - how old would he be now? Eleven? Twelve? - Krennic finds them. He thinks he’s helping, Galen knows.

Lyra shoots Krennic’s shoulder. Krennic’s soldiers shoot Lyra, and she’s dead. Jyn is gone. Galen is alone.

***

The next several years are lonely. Krennic tries to slip into his bed, tries to pull Galen into his. Finally, Galen doesn’t go with him, doesn’t let Krennic in. He works on Krennic’s project, harnesses the energy of the kyber, but he won’t betray Lyra again. For Jyn, he learns to lie, comes up with a plan, starts working tiny flaws into his notes - figured just so that blowing the kyber reactor will blow the whole system and that it will be a straight shot for anyone who can get close enough. Eventually, Krennic gets sick of him, finally seems to give up, relegates him to Eadu. Bleak, crushing, hopeless Eadu.

He’s alone in one of the labs when the pilot comes in. He’s bringing a shipment of kyber crystals, assisted in carrying them by some of the facility’s workers. Galen’s focused when he comes in the first time, doesn’t even acknowledge him. Ten, twenty minutes later, Galen is at the lab sink, getting a drink, when the pilot comes in again. He’s alone this time, just carrying one more crystal and a clipboard. Inventory checklist. It’s standard procedure for the project head to go through everything, make sure everything looks good.

“Galen Erso?” the pilot asks. His voice is - a little wobbly, Galen thinks for less than a millisecond. He’s trying to figure out the most recent kink in his exploding-reactor plan.

“Yes, you have the list for me?” Galen says.

“Yes, just - here.” The pilot hands it to him. 

The pilot’s name.

Bodhi Rook.

 _Bodhi Rook_. It’s in the pilot’s own handwriting at the top of the page - in BIG, MESSY LETTERS: BODHI ROOK.

They’re alone in the lab. Galen looks up from the list, looks at the pilot for a second, sets down the clipboard, and gets up to lock the lab door. Bodhi doesn’t move from where he was standing by Galen’s stool. From the door, Galen says, “Bodhi. I have your name on my ankle.”

Bodhi’s eyes widen comically beneath the goggles on his forehead. His lips part, just a little bit. His cheeks redden. “Yours is on my hip. I - I saw it on the list, but I didn’t think -” A smile shines suddenly on his face, cheeks parting like clouds for the sun as they never do on Eadu.

Galen feels his lips twitch, briefly, but he can’t force himself to smile back so happily. Soulmates aren’t a promise of happiness or security.

Bodhi’s smile fades too quickly. Galen would have liked to have had it for another minute before it had to leave.

“G- Sir?”

Galen closes his eyes and rubs his forehead. “I don’t want to jump into anything. I want to try, but…”

“But you’re busy, of course, I understand,” Bodhi says quickly, and Galen is reminded as he glances at him that Bodhi is young, doesn’t have a lot of education, is only a cargo pilot. Bodhi isn’t Krennic. He’s not Lyra, either. He’s - Galen doesn’t know him, yet.

“No,” Galen says softly. He leaves his stance by the door to come back to stand by Bodhi. The pilot is just an inch or so shorter than him, Galen notes. Big, dark eyes in a soft, open, desert-worn face. Not the standard Imperial type, Galen thinks. “Well, I am, but that’s not what I was going to say. I’m not a young man.”

Bodhi waits for him to continue, forehead slightly crinkled.

“I had a soulmate, years ago… She’s dead now,” he says, only letting his eyes water for a moment, his voice tighten for these few words. “She was murdered. I loved her, and I still do. As I said, I want to try. But I want you to know at least that much so you can make the choice for yourself.”

Bodhi blinks - once - twice - he smiles again but it’s twisted, wistful. “I have already made that choice.”

Galen looks at him curiously. Bodhi looks away, towards the wall, then glances at Galen’s hand. They watch as Bodhi slowly reaches the few inches to join intertwine their fingers. Galen grasps his fingers in return. Bodhi’s hand is sweaty, Galen notes. He wonders if it’s nerves, or from carrying around crates, or a combination of things.

He squeezes Bodhi’s hand. They look at each other. Bodhi smiles at him again, simply this time, quietly and cautiously allowing himself this glimpse of happiness.

Galen slowly smiles back.

***

“I brought you something,” Bodhi says next time he comes to the lab. Galen, yet again, is focused on something else. He’s got his face buried in a holo of a theoretical diagram of a part of the reactor.

“Have a... seat, I’ll be with you in... a minute,” Galen says distractedly after a silent moment. He marks something down on his datapad and pulls himself up. “Manifest?” he asks.

Bodhi glances around. “I only brought flimsiplasts this morning,” he says. “I brought you this.” He pulls a blossom out of his jacket, where it has been carefully not squished. It has a brown center surrounded by seven yellow oval petals. Bodhi holds his breath, nervously watching Galen’s face as he takes the flower, studying it as it drops into his hand.

“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen the sun,” Galen breathes, cupping the flower closer to his face. He offers Bodhi a small smile. Bodhi breathes in and smiles back. “Thank you.”

***

The next time Galen sees Bodhi, Bodhi is delivering flimsiplasts to Galen’s office, late in the work day. Galen’s almost done for the day, only another fifteen or so minutes of flimsiwork to get through. Whatever Bodhi’s bringing by will be able to wait until the morning.

Galen spares Bodhi a smile, gesturing towards his desk. “Good to see you. Set them in the crate there, if you would. Am I your last delivery?”

“After this one I’m done,” Bodhi agrees.

“If you’ll wait a bit, I’m nearly done as well. We could spend the evening together.”

Bodhi smiles a little and sits himself down in the chair by Galen’s door. He waits, quietly, while Galen finishes up.

After fifteen minutes, Galen sets his last flimsi for the day in the ‘signed’ pile, scoots his chair back, and stretches. He yawns, then smiles at Bodhi. “My quarters? I can call one of the runners to bring food down for us.”

Bodhi nods and follows Galen. Another fifteen minutes or so, and they’re settled in Galen’s small, sparse living area. Galen doesn’t remember the last time he used the sofa they’re seated on, half a seat between them, or the coffee table in front of them, steaming food slowly cooling.

“So, you’re from Jedha?” Galen asks.

Bodhi nods. “Until I was sixteen, then two years of flight school. I…” He looks down. “-wanted to be an Imperial starfighter pilot, but… my test scores weren’t high enough. So I am cargo instead.”

“You wanted to be an Imperial starfighter pilot?” Galen asks, starting to divvy up the food. “I suppose that’s the dream of every young boy these days.”

Bodhi looks away. “Yes, I suppose it is,” he says quietly, taking his plate from Galen.

Galen glances up at him. “You’re mostly kyber, I take it?”

Bodhi nods. He’s staring at his food and he’s not smiling.

“Convenient. You probably know the terrain fairly well, as a Jedha native.”

Bodhi shakes his head. “It’s a living, I guess,” he says reluctantly, and takes a small bite of food.

Galen looks at him observantly, stirring his drink. “You don’t seem very enthusiastic.”

Bodhi glances up at him.

“As a soulmate, not a superior,” he adds in a murmur.

“Yes,” Bodhi sighs, looking away again. “It is a war zone. Which I would have seen as a starfighter pilot, but… It’s different, when it is at home. When it is real.”

Galen nods in agreement, swallowing a bite of food. “My home planet was attacked during the Clone Wars. We went into orbit during a battle.”

“Why?” Bodhi asks, confused. “Why would you orbit during a battle?”

“I’m a pacifist. He was trying to convince me of how bad the war was getting, that we needed to build a weapon.”

“You…” Bodhi hesitates. “You _are_ building a weapon.”

“Yes,” Galen agrees, sighing. “I am building a weapon. I suppose you’ve seen the flimsiplasts.”

“And heard rumors,” Bodhi adds on.

Galen nods. “Not surprising. You can’t build a machine that destroys planets without a few rumors getting around.”

Bodhi pauses, fork halfway to his mouth, and stares at him, mouth wide open.

Galen glances over at him and gives a laugh, though there’s only irony in it, no joy. “I imagine you’ve seen the numbers. You can’t truly be surprised,” he says bitterly.

Bodhi brings the bite to his mouth and chews it slowly, taking the time to absorb the information. He swallows. “You are right, I have, but - I didn’t think about it.” He shakes his head in a shudder. “I do not like to think about it.”

Galen eyes him as he takes a sip of his drink. “Neither do I.”

Bodhi shudders again. “So - the battle over your home planet - it convinced you to build the planet-killer?” he asks, as if he’s trying to understand, maybe trying to reconcile the weapon as something he can approve of.

“No.”

“Wh- No?” Bodhi’s forehead crinkles. “Then -?”

“I have… nothing else left, now,” Galen says, looking away, staring past his food. He flatly repeats the same thing he told Krennic. “The weapon is for the good of the galaxy. It's all we have left.”

Bodhi looks at him for a long moment, takes a slug of his drink, and sets it down on the coffee table with a clear clunk. “You are lying to me,” he scoffs, voice clear.

Galen raises an eyebrow at him and Bodhi shrinks back, just a little.

“What if I am?” Galen challenges.

Bodhi swallows, visibly gathering his courage. “As a soulmate, not a cargo pilot,” he begins carefully, “I do not believe that this weapon is good and neither do you. If you did, you would not look so hopeless about it.”

Galen stares him for a moment, then lets out a surprised laugh. “You’ve just seen through a mask that's fooled the smartest men in the galaxy,” he admits. “You're right. I think it's an atrocity.”

***

When Krennic comes to Eadu as inquisitor, brings his Death Troopers as executioners, Galen knows he's going to die. He holds out to the last second, until Krennic has ordered his team to be shot, but he knows his only hope is that Bodhi has gotten his message through to people who can use it.

But before Krennic can do more than give him a look of hurt and betrayal, fighters rumble overhead and drop a rain of bombs on the facility. Galen barely hangs on to the stable part of the platform, pulls himself up, and miraculously, Jyn holds his hand until a fighter comes to pick them up.

“Stardust!” he gasps desperately, embracing her tightly.

She returns the hold like she needs him to survive. “Papa!” she cries, and it's just like he remembers her saying it. “You're alive, Papa!”

“My Stardust,” he says, crying into her hair. She's so tall now.

“Galen?” he hears from the pilot’s seat, and it's a relief. After he sent Bodhi away, Galen wasn't sure he’d ever see him again.

“I’m here, Sunflower,” he calls, still in Jyn’s arms.

A cry of happiness sounds from the front, and he smiles.

“You have a nickname for him,” Jyn laughs. The relief of having him with her is still in her voice as she smiles against the shoulder of his uniform.

He chuckles. Yes, he has a nickname for his bright, sweet soulmate.

He's gotten attached.

***

The moment they've landed on the Alliance base, Bodhi is out of the pilot’s seat and in Galen’s arms. They kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss, uncaring for the world around them, until they've reassured themselves of each other again, and then they don't let go, they just keep holding on and looking in each other's eyes, smiles reflecting brilliantly.

“Papa?” Galen hears Jyn ask uncertainly behind him.

He smiles again at his soulmate and looks over his shoulder at her. “I thought I had lost him like I thought I had lost you, Jyn. Bodhi, dearest. You look ill.” He traces Bodhi’s jaw.

Bodhi quickly buries his head in Galen’s shoulder. “I think it has been a long time since you knew Saw Gererra,” is all he says.

“Papa, you and Bodhi-?”

Galen is slowly realizing that she doesn't know. Bodhi obviously hasn't mentioned it, and she was young when she saw the soulmark on Galen's ankle. She probably doesn't remember.

“He's my soulmate,” he tells his daughter softly, wonder still in his voice. This amazing man is his soulmate.

“He-?” The other pilot, Captain Andor, sounds shocked. “You- Your-?”

“My Sunflower,” Galen says, ignoring the confusion around them. It's unimportant for now. “Have you slept?”

Bodhi’s head shakes in his shoulder.

“Dearest,” Galen murmurs sympathetically.

“This is touching, but unfortunately we’re anxious to get any information you can give us,” the captain interrupts. “And, you know, they’ll be wanting to know why you're not dead.”

They’d had this discussion on the way here. Before he left Andor on the ledge in Eadu, Bodhi had said to protect Galen, and so Andor had. But he’d still disobeyed direct orders.

“Of course,” Galen says. “Sunflower, if you can, please sleep. I’ll be alright.”

Bodhi pulls his head away to look at Galen, and once he's reassured of Galen's safety, nods and pulls away.

They separate. Bodhi goes to rest, and Galen goes, yet again, determinedly to war trial.

**Author's Note:**

> i might write some more for this AU if anybody asks for it/if i get the inspiration but honestly i just wanted these two scenes (i know it's more than two scenes technically). assume they all live. galen gets cleared by the alliance. bail organa isn't on alderaan when it gets blown up. he personally fights darth vader and adopts luke. cassian and jyn are soulmates. han solo and cassian fight (leia backs cassian up). galen and bodhi live happily ever after.


End file.
